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Aquiel (episode)
Geordi La Forge falls in love with a woman accused of murder in an isolated communication relay station. The Enterprise crew investigates the crime, the only other suspect is a Klingon officer who frequently visited the station. Summary Teaser :"Captain's log, stardate 46461.3. We have arrived at a communication relay station near the Klingon border, where we are scheduled to deliver supplies. However, the station has not responded to repeated hails." The has sent an away team composed of CMO Dr. Crusher, Lieutenant Commander La Forge, Commander Riker and Lieutenant Worf to the Communications Relay Station 47. Upon arriving, they find the station abandoned and the audio monitoring system in disarray, with many subspace messages playing all at once. They also find a large, fluffy white dog hiding inside a service duct. The station's shuttlecraft is missing, along with both Starfleet officers, Aquiel Uhnari and Keith Rocha. Dr. Crusher discovers residue which must be the remains of one of the personnel. Act One The blood traces match those of Uhnari, so Crusher assumes the cellular residue is Uhnari's also, but must study it further in her lab to make certain. Geordi La Forge explains that encrypted subspace messages are all sent through a particular channel, and that someone has tried to bypass the access protocols, perhaps taking or rewriting some of the messages. La Forge accesses the station's logs, but at first can see only a handful of Uhnari's official and personal entries. Returning to her quarters, he peruses the logs accompanied by the dog, which he discovers was Uhnari's pet. Uhnari's personal letters reveal her to be a spirited, romantic Haliian woman who was abused by her father, is intensely homesick for the rest of her family and traditions, and has difficulty getting along with "egomaniac" Rocha. At one point she confesses countermanding his orders. In sickbay, Dr. Crusher tries to get a clear DNA sample from the metallic plate, she guesses a high-level phaser blast caused the death. It also could have been a Klingon disruptor. Act Two Uhnari also mentions in her log that Commander Morag, an aggressive Klingon, has been harassing and threatening the station. Klingon DNA traces are found aboard the station, and Captain Jean-Luc Picard asks the Klingon governor to investigate. At first, the governor is hesitant to help but Picard uses his influence as Gowron's Arbiter of Succession to convince him to help. La Forge watches more of Lieutenant Uhnari's personal logs in his quarters. In the log, she states that she misses her mother's own muskan seed punch and how the replicators on the station cannot quite make it the same when a loud bang is heard. Uhnari asks if its Rocha. The log suddenly goes to static. Back on the station, Worf, Riker and La Forge continue the investigation. La Forge cannot find Rocha's logs, telling Riker that whatever happened to the station's encrypted messages had a cascade effect on the communications storage system. Eventually, the governor arrives at the Enterprise s position on the . Worf escorts Torak to the observation lounge and the governor has Uhnari brought in, very much alive. Act Three Uhnari claims that Rocha suddenly and irrationally attacked her; she first tried to access the weapons locker, but next remembers escaping in the shuttle; she was picked up by the Klingons. Possibly owing to a head injury, Uhnari's memory for exactly what happened is spotty, and while she tries to remember and the captain waits for Commander Morag to arrive, Dr. Crusher now assumes that the cellular residue on the station's deck plate is Rocha, but continues to analyze it. La Forge escorts Uhnari out of the lounge, telling her he has a friend of hers that is probably eager to see her. La Forge brings Uhnari to his quarters, where he reunites her with her dog Maura, named after a character in Cold Moon Over Blackwater, a gothic novel. He tells her she probably wants to be alone in assigned quarters after her recent ordeal. However, she tells him that she would like to go to a place that has a lot of activity since she has spent nine months on the station with only Rocha to talk to. They go to Ten Forward, where La Forge seems to know quite a bit about Uhnari, such as getting her muskan seed punch to drink and that she lived on a house on a hill growing up, which surprises the lieutenant. La Forge then confesses that he has reviewed her logs, as well as her personal correspondance. He explains that they thought she had been murdered and needed to investigate. She eventually understands. La Forge brings up her contemptous relationship with her superior officer, Keith Rocha. She considered him hostile and obnoxious and felt she had to battle him to hold her own. But, she insists, she did not want to see him dead. La Forge asks why Rocha attacked her but Uhnari does not know. Riker has Rocha's Starfleet ID file brought up to Picard on his desktop monitor, showing that he was not as nasty as Uhnari's experience of him; in fact, he seems to have been a bright and promising officer. Uhnari's duty records, on the other hand, show her to be difficult and argumentative from her previous posting on Deriben V. Picard orders Riker to examine her shuttle to shed more light on her story. While taking Uhnari to her quarters, she asks La Forge, since he knows her the best from anyone on the Enterprise, if she seems like a person who would murder someone. La Forge admits she doesn't. She wishes him a good night in Haliian. Later, Worf finds a missing phaser from the station in Uhnari's shuttlecraft: it is set to kill. Act Four :"Captain's log, supplemental. The Qu'Vat has arrived with Commander Morag. We are preparing to question him regarding his involvement in the murder of Lieutenant Rocha." Circumstantial evidence now points to her as possibly having killed Rocha, but she hotly denies this to Riker and Worf. Riker informs her that the phaser was found on level ten and all phasers in weapons lockers are set on level one. Uhnari still cannot recall what happened after her struggle with Rocha but admits she may have used the phaser in self-defense. Riker tells her that to inflict the cellular damage found in Rocha's remains, it would take a sustained phaser blast on level ten of thirty to fourty seconds. At this point, La Forge defends her, saying that the phaser found hasn't even been established to be the murder weapon. La Forge tells Riker he is heading back to the station to try to retrieve Rocha's logs. Riker stops him and asks that he not get involved more with Uhnari, so his relationship doesn't cloud his judgment. La Forge responds back that he's "not the one making judgments." Commander Morag arrives shortly thereafter. He describes how he investigated the station when they did not answer his hails. He confesses that he was the one who tried to bypass the access protocols and filched a number of priority Starfleet messages, but that while he saw blood and signs of a struggle, he did not kill anyone. Torak has Morag remain on the Enterprise under Starfleet custody at Picard's request, as he does not want to cause a diplomatic incident with the Federation. On the station, La Forge discovers that Uhnari had established a subspace link with a console on the relay station and deleted a number of Rocha's personal logs, including a letter he was planning to send to Starfleet. Citing her as "belligerent and insubordinate", Rocha had planned to ask for a formal hearing. She explains that she did so because she was afraid that if Starfleet found the letter, they would blame her for the murder. Knowing her pattern of running away in panic when she is afraid, La Forge advises her to stay and face what has happened, and she agrees. They kiss passionately. On the Enterprise, Dr. Crusher continues to examine the cellular residue in sickbay, which suddenly, upon contact with her skin, takes the form of her hand. Act Five Crusher explains to Picard that these are not Rocha's remains, but a coalescent organism that feeds off other lifeforms, then assumes their shape. Rocha never worked at the station; it was the shapeshifter who killed him at his last post of duty in the remote Triona system and took his place. Crusher warns that what appears to be Uhnari may actually be the creature, the same applies for Morag. Meanwhile, Uhnari introduces La Forge to a Haliian custom in which their minds can telepathically connect, amplified by a large crystal ornament called a Canar. Riker breaks in and disrupts their session. While Uhnari and Morag are examined, La Forge returns to his quarters, where he's been keeping Uhnari's dog Maura. The dog attacks him; the coalescent organism had been the dog, not Uhnari. When it starts morphing again, La Forge shoots at it with his phaser, this has virtually no effect until he ups his phaser settings and so kills the creature. In Ten Forward, La Forge tells his theory, that Uhnari's memory loss after the Rocha-like creature attacked her was caused by the beginning coalescing process; which explains her feeling of having her memory drained out. Uhnari realizes she may indeed have taken the phaser and shot. She is grateful to La Forge for his advice and friendship but refuses his offer to recommend her for a post. She knows she is not an ideal Starfleet officer, but tells him she is considering staying in Starfleet and perhaps one day serving aboard the Enterprise. Memorable quotes "We found traces of Klingon DNA on the station." "You still try to blame us!" "Have the courage to admit your mistakes. Or are you a ''lo'Be Vos?" "''At least I do not wear the uniform of the ''petaQ!" : - '''Worf' and Governor Torak ' butting heads "''The Klingon Empire will not stand for these kinds of lies!" "Governor Torak... I apologize. I can see that you honestly didn't know what happened aboard the station. I will just have to take this matter up with Gowron. I'm ''really sorry that we bothered you.''" : - '''Torak speaks with Picard after Aquiel Uhnari stated in a log she was harassed by Morag, a Klingon "Lieutenant Uhnari's logs reported that Commander Morag had been harassing the station." "He was doing his job." : - Captain Picard and Governor Torak "You know me better than anyone here. Do I seem like the kind of person who would murder someone?" "No, you don't." : - Aquiel Uhnari and La Forge "I think you've let your personal feelings cloud your judgment." "I'm not the one making judgments." : - Riker and La Forge "Geordi?" "I can ''see you. Oh, and I can feel you." : - '''Aquiel Uhnari' and La Forge while they both use the canar to create a bond between them "What are you doing, commander?" "That may not be Lieutenant Uhnari." : - La Forge to Riker while he has a phaser pointed at Aquiel "Concerned?" : - Counselor Troi - her only line of dialogue Background information Story and production * This story began as another attempt at providing Geordi with a recurring romance. At Michael Piller's suggestion, this was tied into a mystery in the manner of the 1944 film , starring Gene Tierney, in which a detective investigating the murder of a woman named Laura falls in love with her, only to discover that she is alive and may herself be a killer. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion) * With Colm Meaney (Miles O'Brien) and Rosalind Chao's (Keiko O'Brien) departure from the series to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, TNG had lost its only married couple. It was hoped that this episode would show that marriage and serious relationships still existed in the 24th century. As Jeri Taylor observed, "We now portray the twenty-fourth century as being full of single people...It seems to me that's not the comment we should be making - that marriage and serious relationships ''do survive into the twenty-fourth century."'' (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion) One season later, however, recurring Nurse Alyssa Ogawa and her husband Andrew Powell started a family, so eventually the idea was pursued. * At first, Aquiel was to have been the killer, but it was felt that this was too similar to the film . Keith Rocha and Morag were next considered, but dismissed as too obvious. According to Ronald D. Moore, "At one point, we finally said 'Why not the dog? " Moore joked that he and Braga had considered calling the episode "Murder, My Pet!" (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion) * Maura was played by Friday, a terrier mix. The dog had previously played Commissioner Robert Scorpio's dog on . (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion) * First UK airdate: 4 October 1995 Continuity * It is noted that at this point there has been no Klingon raid on the Federation in "seven years". Moore added this to show that the situation can still be uneasy in the Federation-Klingon alliance. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion) * There are several references barely legible in Keith Rocha's log on the screen, including his linking of an Andorian comm channel, having a competition with a aboard the , Starbase 237 in the Delta Vega sector, and that Starfleet had diverted several starships to "the Epsilon IX station", implying they rebuilt it after . * Also, in the logs, the stardates are sequential by dates: "46455, 46456, 46457, 46458..." * The golden tape in Aquiel Uhnari's quarters aboard the station was previously worn by Nehemiah Persoff as Palor Toff in the third season episode . Reception * Many production staff members were disappointed with this episode, considered to be the weakest of the generally good sixth season. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion) * In the Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion, Jeri Taylor says she felt Renée Jones was not suited to the nature of the series and that she and the chemistry between her and LeVar Burton "never clicked". * When asked what he would have done differently in his time on Star Trek, Moore stated that he would not have written "Aquiel". * The look of the coalescent organism also disappointed the staff. The designer said in an interview that many names were given to the creature, and that "... Mr. Peanut was probably the kindest that I had." FX supervisor Ronald B. Moore stated that the effect was subcontracted out and was delivered without enough time for the touch-ups to add texture and motion that he felt were needed. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion) Video and DVD releases *UK VHS release (two-episode tapes, CIC Video): Volume 70, . *As part of the TNG Season 6 DVD collection. Links and references Starring * Patrick Stewart as Capt. Jean-Luc Picard * Jonathan Frakes as Cmdr. William Riker Also starring * LeVar Burton as Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge * Michael Dorn as Lieutenant Worf * Gates McFadden as Dr. Beverly Crusher * Marina Sirtis as Counselor Deanna Troi * Brent Spiner as Lt. Commander Data Guest stars * Renée Jones as Aquiel Uhnari * Wayne Grace as Torak Co-stars * Reg E. Cathey as Morag * Majel Barrett as Computer Voice Uncredited co-stars * Arratia as Alfonse Pacelli * Michael Braveheart as Martinez * Cameron as Kellogg * Tracee Lee Cocco as Jae * John Copage as science division officer * Friday as Maura * Christie Haydon as command division ensign * Kerry Hoyt as operations division ensign * Arvo Katajisto as Torigan * Rad Milo as operations division ensign * Michael Moorehead as science division ensign * Joyce Robinson as Gates * Noriko Suzuki as operations division ensign * Natalie Wood as Bailey * Unknown performers as ** Command division lieutenant ** Female command division officer ** Female science division officer ** Female science division officer ** Keith Rocha ** Klingon officer ** Ten Forward waitress Stand-ins * David Keith Anderson - stand-in for LeVar Burton * Carl David Burks - stand-in for Brent Spiner * Michael Echols - stand-in for Michael Dorn * Nora Leonhardt - stand-in for Marina Sirtis * Lorine Mendell - stand-in for Gates McFadden * Richard Sarstedt - stand-in for Jonathan Frakes * Dennis Tracy - stand-in for Patrick Stewart References 47; Batarael; Beta'Elan Minor; Canar; ''Caroline'', CCN; ''Charleston'', USS; coalescent organism; Cold Moon Over Blackwater; Delta Vega sector; Deriben V; disruptors; Drexler, Douglas; Epsilon IX station; Federation; Fatal Revenge, The; governor; Haliian; Haliian language; hearing; ''Hood'', USS; Horath; iced coffee; Klingons; Klingon Empire; ''K'Marco'', USS; level 2 diagnostic; level 3 diagnostic; ''Mare Tranquillitatis'', USS; Mark VI warp drive; memory module; message delay buffer; ''Merrimac'', USS; micro-vaporize; Milky Way Galaxy; Muskan seed punch; network relay tech; New Lagos; nightstand; ''Odele'', USS; Ops; Pendleton; Personal log, Aquiel Uhnari; Personal log, Keith Rocha; petaQ; phase inducer; pooch; phaser, type 2; ''Qu'Vat'', IKS; Relay Station 47; Relay Station 182-A; Relay Station 194; Relay Station 452; Rocha, Bradley T.; Rocha, Wendy D.; Sector 001; Sector 1540; Sector 5501; Sector 9012; Sector 2520; Sector 22855; Sector 25712; Sector 32834; Sector Ipai; Sector Ipai Relay Log; Shianna; shuttlecraft; Starbase 11; Starbase 12; Starbase 56; Starbase 78; Starbase 212; Starbase 237; Starbase 515; Starbase 4112; Starbase Meta; Starfleet Command; subspace relay station; Taylor; Triona system; type 2 phaser; Verne; ''Wetlark'', GCA; wig; ''Zhukov'', USS |next= }} de:Aquiel es:Aquiel fr:Aquiel (épisode) ja:謎の蒸発事件（エピソード） nl:Aquiel pl:Aquiel Category:TNG episodes